


Haunted Memories and Mourning Love

by AllegroCrescendo



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But they're ghosts, Buzzfeed Unsolved Supernatural AU, Depictions of Death, Established Relationship, F/F, Frozen AU, Ghosts, Historical References, How Do I Tag, I thought of this while I was high, It's a bunch of AUs mashed together, Like, M/M, POV Multiple, References to Deaths, Salem Witch Trials AU, So is Victor, WITCHES AU, Wicked AU, You just gotta keep reading this for it to make sense, Yuuri is dead, just read it please, lol, plato's soulmate au, they died in the past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 03:30:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14729127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllegroCrescendo/pseuds/AllegroCrescendo
Summary: Phichit, Leo, Guang-Hong and Emil are a ragtag team of Ghost Hunters who have a hit show with their company 'Buzzfeed'. When they take a journey to Vunadli, Massachusetts, where local legend speaks of the souls of two witches who haunt the forest surrounding the small town. When the group plays with a Ouija board, everything goes horribly wrong. It's up to the four to help the spirits of Vunadli to find peace once more.





	Haunted Memories and Mourning Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hellohellohello,
> 
> Allegro here!!
> 
> Okay I know I have gone MIA for several months. And I know that this isn't my usual series (Fast Times at Angeles High or Dirty Diana) but I have had this idea floating around my head for a while. It was originally intended as a one-shot, but the more I came up with, the more I realized that one measly chapter isn't enough to tell the story the way I wanted it to be told.
> 
> It all started with me listening to Halsey's ["Control"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so8V5dAli-Q) and then I kept building from there, so it's been described countless times as "Plato's Soulmates meets Buzzfeed Unsolved meets Wicked meets Frozen meets the Salem Witch Trials". 
> 
> (Russo Brothers: Infinity War is the most ambitious crossover ever.)  
> (Me: Hold my beer.)
> 
> So here we go!
> 
> **Trigger Warning**
> 
> This story does contain a lot of deaths. Obviously. They're ghosts. It also depicts violence. So if that's not your cuppa, feel free to read any other of my works that don't have violence [ right here ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllegroCrescendo/works). 
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy "Awakening".

_A long time ago, near the beginning of time, the Earth Goddess gave birth to a very powerful being to bless the people who worshipped her and curse those who didn’t. With four legs, four arm, two heads, two hearts, and two minds, It was unlike anything else that had ever walked the Earth. It could bring terrible famines, but also bless the good earth with a plentiful harvest. It could bring torrential rains that flooded cities, or rains to end a long drought. It would put humans to bed every night when it rose the Moon and woke them with the Sun the next day. It could bring terrible diseases and death, or cure the sick and bring the dead back to life._

_When the Sky God, ruler of the Heavens and all the gods, saw the potency of the being the Earth Goddess had created, he split the being in half and banished each part to distant ends of the lands, ordering them to never meet again. One half of the being became evil and harmful. It would wreak havoc on those who crossed his path and spread misery wherever it went. The other half of the being became good. It blessed the earth it walked upon with rich soil and cured the sick as he journeyed along. But before the two halves were sent away from each other, the Earth Goddess carved out opposite sides of their hearts, and gave it to the other, so that eventually, perhaps not in this life, but in the next, and the one after that, the halves could always find each other, and be complete together._

“Yeah, that’s bullshit.”

“What?!”

“You really expect me to just… _not_ believe theories that have more proof than this vanilla Human Centipede story?” 

“Oh, come on, Leo, this is a really cute idea, isn’t it? It’s basically explaining soulmates.”

“Fate doesn’t decide anything for you. You make your own path.” 

“Wow, way to be a Negative Nancy,” Phichit grumbled as he trudged down the frosted forest trail towards their rented cabin. He held a video recorder in his hand, flashing it towards Leo who walked beside Guang-Hong, who was bundled up just as much as he was. Emil patted Phichit’s arm and laughed. 

“If Leo wasn’t such a Negative Nancy, it would really ruin the dynamic and the vlogs wouldn’t be as big as they are,” Emil chirped.

“Ah, Emil. Always so refreshingly positive,” Guang-Hong laughed, nudging the peppy Czech playfully. 

“As I was saying,” Phichit said sharply, glaring at Leo who only smirked back.

_The Earth Goddess placed a powerful binding spell on the heart of both halves of her being. What she did not foresee, however, is that the binding spell would transcend death. Her being would be reborn as two people every century, and the two would be brought back together, for their heart beat only for the other. Even when the power of the Earth Goddess withered away, and the Sky God turned to dust, the being remained, fueled only by the love for its other half._

_The most prominent pair of these halves were in the 1700s. Legend has it, there were two powerful magic wielders; a mystic hunted by the Romanov Dynasty and an Onmyōji who escaped persecution from the Tokugawa shogunate._

“Are you telling me that the mystic is like, Rasputin? Is this it? Is Rasputin apart of your weird-ass kinky Greek Mythological Human Centipede fanfiction?” Leo asked.

“Oh my god,” Phichit whipped his head to look at his friend, who gave him a shit-eating grin. “Can you shut up and let me finish?”

“Alright,” Leo shrugged.

_These two magic wielders were known as Victor Nikiforov and Katsuki Yuuri. Victor renamed himself Nikiforov meaning “son of Victory”, because he swore that one day, he would return to Russia and bring down the family who brought him such shame, ultimately winning in the end. However, his plans purportedly all changed when he met Yuuri. Yuuri, who had brought a curse upon one of the family members of the Shogunate after his parents had been murdered, fled to the forging American Colonies in the late 1700s._

_Yuuri wrote down in one of his scriptures that he felt something in his dreams compelled him West, despite only hearing very little of it from merchants who brought stories of the British colonies to Edo after having contact with Chinese merchants. Victor, as Yuuri wrote, felt the same force compel him also fled, and they arrived in a small town in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, on the outskirts of Salem, where we find ourselves today._

_Legend has it, Yuuri and Victor haunt this very forest where we will be spending the night. When Yuuri and Victor found each other in the colonies, the halves of their hearts the Earth Goddess traded were awakened, and they fell in love. They were whole again. Together, they built a house in the forest and lived together. Seldom did they venture into town, but when they did, they always drew attention to themselves. One day, however, Victor cursed a fisherman, who had realized Yuuri was not like the others and brought death to three townspeople. The townspeople then realized the witches that lived amongst them. Afraid of their power, the mayor of this town brought in a priest, who remembered the story of the Earth Goddess and her being from a book he once read. To rid themselves of Yuuri and Victor, the priest declared that one of them must be captured, and killed. One day, while Yuuri was in town, townspeople ambushed and seized Yuuri. An imprisoned witch the priest had found placed a powerful hex on Yuuri, and locked away his magic. They took him back to town for a public execution. They executed him on the grounds of murder, crimes against nature, and heresy._

_As he was being brought to the hanging tree, Yuuri called out for Victor to flee. As he cried out, many accounts report that a strong wave of his pent-up magic broke free from him, forever binding his spirits to the forest, where his memories were the strongest. When he died, Victor’s anguish released a furious winter storm upon the town, murdering many from the bitter cold. He then retreated to their home in the forest. The townspeople, in revenge, began a witch hunt to find Victor, kill him, and burn down Victor and Yuuri’s house. After a brief interaction with the townspeople, Victor cursed their names and fled, never to be seen again The townspeople never found their house and until the 1900s, it remained lost. When it was found, it was renovated by a private company who now rents it out to brave souls who dare stay a night in it. It says that to this day, Yuuri and Victor’s souls still haunt their house and these woods._

“No,” Leo said.

“What?!” Phichit exclaimed.

“This...this is all too convenient. They just _happened_ to get the one specific priest who knew about the legend? And what’s up with the priest getting a witch to hex Yuuri? Like. Did he call up the Vatican to allow this? Like, “Hey, just so Y'all know, I’m gonna get this person who is in no way affiliated with our church to like, help me fuck up a Japanese magician,"?” Leo asked. 

Emil cackled loudly and Guang-Hong playfully smacked his boyfriend's arm, asking him to be nice. Phichit huffed and shook his head. “It’s folklore alright? It always gets mushed up as the story gets retold. Kinda like Telephone.” Phichit said.

Leo shook his head. “No. It’s too convenient.” 

“If he was never seen again, how is he known to haunt this forest?” Emil asked curiously.

“Because this story is utter bullshit, and ghosts don’t exist,” Leo said, nudging Emil with his shoulder.

“Oh my god,” Phichit said, stopping and pointed the camera towards Leo, “You’re just being skeptical because you’re afraid.”

“I am _not_ afraid,” Leo stopped and turned to face Phichit with his arms crossed.

“Ohhh look at me, I’m Leo and I’m a big bad boy who uses skepticism to mask my fear, oooohhhhh,” Phichit said, pushing the camera into Leo’s face.

“Hey hey,” Guang-Hong said, stepping between the two. “How about we get to our cabin before we tear each other heads off, yeah? The lady from the witchcraft store said she’d be waiting for us to unlock the door at 6:30. It’s 5:45 right now.” He asked, looking between the two. “This weekend better not be another Mario Kart situation.”

Leo stop walking, grinned and wrapped his arm around Guang-Hong, peppering kisses along his cheek. Guang-Hong grinned and wrapped his arm around Leo, leaning into him. Phichit stopped and turned the camcorder towards the two lovers, poking his face into the camcorder. “This is what I deal with every time we film.”

“Stop being invasive,” Leo laughed, shoving his hand in front of Phichit’s camera as he continued to kiss his boyfriend. 

“Alright, hurry up now, we gotta get to our cabin before nightfall,” Emil said. “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t wanna spend the night in the middle of a freezing forest in our thin sleeping bags.”

“Alright, alright, geez, Emil,” Guang-Hong laughed and pushed his boyfriend off of him, locking their hands together and forging ahead of the group. “Last one there has to unpack all the cameras.”

“Hey!!” Phichit complained as he hurried ahead, “No fair, I got all the heavy stuff!”

“You’re the one who insisted on bringing all that good luck crap,” Leo retorted, pivoting to face his best friend and giving him a smug smirk. “All I’m carrying is my cameras and my clothes and shit.” Leo then took his boyfriend’s hand and took off running.

“Hey!” Phichit yelled as Guang-Hong threw an apologetic look over his shoulder. He then looked at Emil, who adjusted the camera he was holding and shrugged at Phichit.

“I don’t wanna be the one unpacking everything,” Emil said before he took off running.

“Heeeyyy!” Phichit yelled one more, racing behind his friends.

When the four finally arrived at the cabin, following the markers that were set out by the rental company, they were all heaving messes. Phichit, of course, was the last to arrive. When he got there, he saw Guang-Hong conversing with a young woman. She was no older than 23 perhaps and had bright red hair with even brighter blue eyes. She wore a tan peacoat, looking perhaps too light for the below-freezing temperature around them. What struck Phichit the most, perhaps, was the amount of stone jewelry she wore. Her necklace held three crystals, and her earrings were two simple stone studs. When she waved her hands as she talked, Phichit noticed the sixth stone on her ring finger. 

“Hey,” Phichit said, finally catching up. He started rolling his camera again and began filming, “Sorry I’m a tad bit behind. These assholes left me,” He said, glaring at his friends.  
The lady laughed and waved her hand dismissively. “It’s alright. I wasn’t waiting too long.” She reassured. She held her hand out of Phichit. “Mila Babicheva. I run the Museum surrounding the Witches’ Legend in town and I work for the company you rented this cabin from.”

“Busy woman,” Emil noted with a chuckle. 

Mila smiled at him. It was an odd smile. Forced. “Like you wouldn’t believe.” She stopped and turned to Phichit, handing him the key. “Two keys. You now officially have this cabin from sundown today to noon on Sunday. Cleaning fees will be applied if a mess is left behind afternoon on Sunday. And remember. It’s best to stay indoors after midnight.”

“Will the spooky ghosts get us?” Leo asked, wiggling his fingers at Phichit. Mila turned to look at Leo, her gaze lingering long enough to get mildly creepy. She dropped her gaze to the ground and took a deep breath.

“Yes. They will impersonate you and try to kill every single one of you. He’s a vengeful spirit.” She stopped and looked up. “I hope you enjoy your stay!” She chirped and turned to walk away.

“Wait!” Phichit said, making Mila stop in her tracks. “You said you worked in the museum in town, right? Maybe you can...clarify the story for us,” Phichit asked. “Come inside, won’t you?”

“Perhaps you’d like to enjoy a cup of Hot Chocolate with us,” Guang-Hong suggested, smiling softly at her. “I bought a really good brand they have at work for us.”

Mila gave Guang-Hong the same look she gave Leo. She stared at him directly in the eyes before snapping to look at Phichit. She pursed her lips and nodded. “I...I can do so.” 

The five entered the cabin and immediately, the four men went to work. Guang-Hong began to heat up a pot of milk using a metal tray over a wood stove, unpacking delicacies from his backpack to enjoy with the hot chocolate. Leo and Emil both began arranging their belongings in the rooms, as well as Phichit and Guang-Hong’s belongings. Phichit, of course, was left to unpack the filming materials and set up for filming, as he had lost the race. All the while, Mila sat at the roundtable, nervously twisting one of the three crystals on her necklace. It was a dark, murky color with subtle red streaks running through it. Phichit could have sworn it was glowing.

“Is that Obsidian?” Phichit asked, affixing a camera to a tripod. 

Mila looked up. She smiled wistfully and shook her head. “I wish. It’s a bloodstone.” She took the other two crystals, laying all three in her palm and staring at them. She pointed at another dark stone that had flecks of prismatic colors in it. “This one is a black opal stone.” She then pointed to the final stone. It was a deep burgundy color. “This is a garnet.”

“What about the other three?” Phichit asked, motioning to her ears. 

Mila looked at him hesitantly. “My earrings are alexandrite and agate. And my ring,” She said, holding up her right hand and showed the ring with the large stone on her middle finger, “is sapphire.”

“Now,” Leo said, sitting down in next to Mila, “do you really believe in the healing properties and whatnot associated with the crystals and what not?” he asked.

Mila smiled curiously at him and leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table. “Not everything in this life is what it seems. Many realities exist. Many universes exist.”

“That,” Leo said, furrowing his eyebrows, “That did not answer my question.” 

“Can we just get on with the interview?” Phichit asked. “Knowing Leo, he’ll keep you here just in this loop of trying to disprove everything through his ‘science’ or whatever.” 

“Hey, I majored in Pre-Law. I am a man of logic,” Leo shrugged.

“Logic is all up to the person’s own perception. My logic may be similar to yours but because of my experiences and perspectives, may be completely different,” Mila explained. She gratefully took a mug of hot chocolate from Guang-Hong and curled her fingers around the steaming drink.

“She has you beat man,” Phichit pulled up a chair next to Leo. Guang-Hong handed them both mugs before standing behind the camera, joining Emil who was setting up sound equipment and handing clip-on microphones to Leo, Phichit, and Mila. “Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

Guang-Hong leaned into the camera, peering at the small LCD screen and making minor adjustments to the lens before nodding and giving a thumbs up. He pressed the record button and used his fingers to countdown the beginning of the recording.

“We’re here right now with Mila Babicheva, owner of the cabin we’re renting and a Museum in town talking about the Witches of Vunadli. Mila is here today to tell us about the hauntings of the forests and the myths themselves,” Phichit said into the camera. He then turned to the young woman, “So what can you tell us about this Witches’ Legend and perhaps something that is not common knowledge about the Legend?”

Mila took a long drink of her hot chocolate before setting her mug on her lap. Phichit was amazed she could do so without burning her tongue. She smiled to herself and tilted her head. “Well. Of course, you heard of the two witches being the reincarnation of the Earth Goddess’ being. That is true. The two witches, Yuuri and Victor, also fleeing here to the fledgling colonies is true. What most people don’t know as true is that Yuuri and Victor befriended a small child who lived in the town. Her name was Anais Elisabeth LeBon and she was the daughter of the town baker. There is a record of her being bathed in holy water after it was discovered she had encountered with the two witches.”

Leo snickered. Phichit gave him a look and he attempted to control himself. He cleared his throat. “Sorry. It’s just. Absurd to think that she basically took a shower to try and cleanse herself from the meeting. Ah, continue.”

Mila sighed and shook her head. “Yuuri and Victor wanted to bring the town no harm, contrary to popular belief. While Victor was vengeful, he was vengeful towards the Romanov Dynasty for,” Mila stopped and stared into her cup. “For murdering his younger brother hours before he fled, and then years later, murdering his magic teacher and everyone in his Academy who once studied alongside him.” Mila stopped and pursed her lips. “People he considered family. Couple that with the murder of his literal soulmate, Victor’s soul became very vengeful.”

“And how do you know all this?” Phichit asked with wonder.

“Handwritten records and accounts of villagers who were the last to confront Victor before he disappeared,” she explained. “The mayor of the town ordered all spoils from their house be collected once the cabin was burned down. They never found the cabin, so all records remained virtually untouched.”

“So how did you become interested in this legend, and how did the company acquire this cabin?” Leo asked. 

Mila looked at him and laughed. “My Great-great-grandmother actually was apart of the team that found the cabin. She, however...died on the expedition. She was murdered on the expedition. The official coroner’s report says she was attacked by a pack of wolves when she wandered off alone. But many conspiracy theorists think she was attacked by Victor’s vengeful spirit when she found his cabin.” 

Leo and Phichit shared a look. From the corner of his eye, Phichit could see the worry on Guang-Hong’s face as he monitored the camera. He turned to Mila and noticed a soulful look in her azure eyes. “What do you think?”

Mila let out a heavy sigh and she nodded. “I believe she was attacked by the spirit.”

“Seriously?” Leo asked. “You honestly believe that? One of your great-great-grandparents was apart of this great expedition and you believe she was killed by a ghost? Aren’t wolves more plausible.”

“Ghosts are plausible as the fact that Anais Elizabeth LeBon was my 6th great-grandmother,” Mila replied calmly. “I told you, everything is not as it seems.” After a brief pause, she turned back to Phichit. “The company that rents the cabin bought it off an auction because no one wanted-”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Leo laughed and cut off Mila. “You’re gonna breeze by the fact that the purported little girl who purportedly hung out with purported witches is your purported relative?”

“Is purported your favorite word?” Mila asked with an amused smile.

“It’s really the only big word he knows,” Phichit offered with a sly smirk. Everyone in the room exploded with laughter, except for Leo, who looked at Phichit with an unamused expression. 

“Well yes, I am related to Anais. It really is no big deal,” she said. “This story has been with my family for over 230 years. I was very interested in it as a child and it developed into my passion. After graduating from college with my degree in History, I came back here to pursue the history of my small hometown.”

“So I think it’s safe to say you believe in the legend?” Phichit asked Mila, “Creation story, reincarnation and all.”

Mila’s eyes glowed with an indiscernible emotion. Her eyes flickered to both Leo and Guang-Hong. Her hand reached up and touched the black opal stone. “Of course.” 

Phichit looked off camera to Guang-Hong and nodded. Guang-Hong stopped recording, and Emil lowered the recording microphone. “That was amazing,” the Czech man grinned. “You’re a really convincing storyteller Mila. I can tell you’re quite invested in the legend.”

Mila twisted the black opal stone once more before dropping her hand and smiling at Emil. “Thank you.” She stood, taking her peacoat from its place draped across the chair and put it back on. She then wrapped her scarf around herself. “I should really get going now. You have my number if you need anything.”

“You’re not staying?” Guang-Hong asked. “You barely touched your hot chocolate.”

Mila laughed and shook her head. “I should really head out. I don’t want to be caught out here before it’s dark.”

“Are the spooky specters gonna get ya?” Leo wiggled his fingers and laughed. “It’s okay, Mila. They aren’t real.”

Mila stared at Leo. For a second, Phichit could have sworn that the bloodstone crystal on her necklace glowed brighter. She smiled. “Oh, Leo. You’ll come around.” She bowed her head politely to the four men, “Thank you for your hospitality. I’ll see you all on Sunday.” Then, Mila walked to the door, looked back only once to lock eyes with Leo, and waved goodbye before exiting the door. 

“Well she was pleasant,” Guang-Hong smiled and took her cup of hot chocolate back to the kitchen. “I’m going to store this for her in case she wants it on Sunday.”

“So thoughtful, babe,” Leo said, stretching his arms and yawning. “I’m so tired.”

“Really dude? I feel like I can run a couple of laps,” Phichit said, walking into one of the rooms to retrieve something from his bags. He found his back tucked in the corner of his and Emil’s room, next to the bed he would be sleeping on. The room itself was simplistic enough. The bed was made of a light-colored wood and the sheets were a pure white color. A matching wardrobe stood opposite of both beds. The wall adjacent to the beds had a window, draped with white, wool curtains. Between both the beds, a rug patterned with spirals laid. Two nightstands separated the beds. It was simple but elegant. 

“Keep in mind, Leo did drive all the way from our New York office and then we hiked all the way here,” Guang-Hong defended his boyfriend. Phichit snickered. How cute. 

Phichit opened his backpack and dug through it a bit before finding what he was looking for. He produced an all black box, the word “OUIJA” printed in bold, white font on the cover. He stood and walked with it back to the room where the other three were.

“Run the camera,” Phichit told Guang-Hong, “we’re gonna do something really stupid.” The Thai man then set the Ouija board down on the dining room table where the other three sat, sipping their hot chocolate.

Emil’s brows shot up. “Phichit you said that you would _never_ play with a Ouija board.”

“I also said that I would never do demon investigations, and yet the Indiana Demon House is our most watched video to date,” Phichit said, unpacking the board and placing it on the table, but leaving the planchette on the box. He walked to the kitchen, retrieving a lit scented candle from the counter and bringing it back to the table.

“Phichit,” Leo said, a tinge of nervousness in his voice, “I really don’t think we should be messing with this.”

Phichit looked up at him, eyes wide with shock. “Leo,” Phichit said, not sure if he was more amused at Leo’s sudden belief, or unnerved by it. “I thought you didn’t believe in all these things.”

“I’ve heard bad stories about Ouija boards. I think they’re, like, a placebo effect, and maybe one of us is gonna believe a little bit too much, and something bad is gonna go down. Maybe Emil will strangle you and claim it was 'cause a ghost possessed him or something,” Leo sighed. 

“Why do I have to strangle Phichit?” Emil asked, looking offended. “You’re more likely to be the one to do it.” 

“Okay let’s stop talking about me being strangled in the presence of the board, thanks,” Phichit said, raising his hands in a ‘stop’ motion and eyes wide with exasperation. “Leo, if you really don’t want to part take in this, don’t worry about it. You can be our scribe. Someone needs to write down the messages the ghosts send anyway since we’re technically not supposed to decipher them as it’s being spelled.” 

“Alright fine, whatever, I’ll do that,” Leo said and sighed. He looked and Guang-Hong and grabbed his hand. “You don’t have to play if you don’t want to, babe. Two players is enough,” He said. 

Guang-Hong smiled, amused at his boyfriend’s concern. “I’ll be fine,” he replied. “Nothing is going to hurt me.” 

“That’s the spirit, Guangy!” Phichit said, leaping to his feet and beginning to shut the curtains around the house, shrouding it in darkness. The light of the candle grew more intense with the more windows he shut. Phichit himself did believe in the power of the board, which is why he chose to use it. If Victor and Yuuri’s souls were as powerful as the legends claimed, then it would be an amazing thing to capture their contact on video.

Guang-Hong stood and began to set up the camera, angling it so the entire table was in view. He then produced a small GoPro camera from his camera bag and set it on the table, angled so the board’s face was in view. He pressed the record button on both and sat across from Phichit. Emil got to work setting up the microphones, adjusting everything so he wouldn’t have to bother with sound during the session. Once everything was in motion, the three sat around the board, with Leo sitting beside Guang-Hong. 

“Okay, so we all have to place four fingers on the board, like this,” Phichit said, touching his index fingers and middle fingers together. He then looked at Emil and Guang-Hong, who mimicked his hand position and together, all three of them placed their fingers on the board. Phichit felt chills run up his arms. When he looked at the other two, they looked unaffected. 

“Okay, so one of us has to be the oracle. I’ll go ahead and do that. You two,” He motioned to Guang-Hong and Emil with his head, “have to focus your energy on keeping the connection together and Leo, write down whatever letter or number the planchette falls on.” 

Leo looked around, eventually grabbing the notepad and pencil that came with the board came and nodded. “Okay,” He said. “I’m ready.”

Phichit took a deep breath and glanced into the main camera. He turned back to the board. “Guys, move the planchette to the ‘G’,” Phichit said, and together, the three did so. Phichit took a deep breath. His palms began to sweat. “Okay, so, here we go. Spirits of the otherworld, we invite you here on this dusk and would like to communicate with you. My name is Phichit Chulanont. In front of my is Guang-Hong Ji. Beside me is Emil Nekola. Our friend not lending energy is Leo de Iglesia. He is our scribe.” 

Phichit paused for a moment. He looked up at his friends. Guang-Hong had his eyes closed, shoulders rising and falling at a steady pace. Emil kept his eyes focused on the board. The shadow the candle draped over his face made him look ominous. 

“Is there anyone here with us?” Phichit asked the first question. The board remained cold. The planchette remained on the ‘G’. Phichit looked up at Leo, who stared at the board with a myriad of emotion in his eyes. “It’s okay,” Phichit said, “We’re not going to hurt you. We’re investigators for a show. We want to help you.”

The planchette remained still yet again. Phichit could see Leo shaking his head through the corner of his eye. “So it is a lie.” He said, lowering the notepad and pencil and sitting back.

Just then, as soon as Leo finished speaking, the planchette shot to the upper-right hand corner. ‘ _No_ ’. Phichit’s head snapped up and he stared at Leo. Leo stared at the board in shock before shaking his head. “That was one of you guys. No way that board just moved on its own. No way.” Once again, the board moved after Leo finished talking. It slid to the left. ‘ _Yes_ ’. 

“What the fuck,” Emil breathed, laughing in disbelief. “Phichit cut it out.”

Phichit shook his head, arms trembling now. “It’s not me. It’s not me.” He swallowed thickly and asked another question. “You don’t respond when I ask, but you only answer to Leo. Do you like Leo?”

The planchette remained still. 

“Do you like my boyfriend?” Guang-Hong asked, voice surprising still for the situation they were in. After a heartbeat, the planchette began to move through letters. Leo stood, frantically writing down every letter the board began to run through. Phichit focused his energy on keeping connections alive. The planchette finally stopped, ending on the letter, ‘e’. 

“What does it say?” Phichit asked Leo. Leo’s gaze was glued to the notepad. Even in the dim light of the candle, he could see the way the Chicano man’s hand shook. Leo was panicking now. This wasn’t good.

“My love,” Leo said, turning the notepad around so the three could see. Everyone at the table instantly shifted uncomfortably. 

“Is Leo your love?” Guang-Hong asked again. This time, without a pause, the ‘planchette’ moved to ‘yes’. It then began to cross the board again. Leo didn’t hesitate writing down all the letters, his eyes constantly flickering from the board to the notepad. His pencil’s frantic scribbling was the only audible thing in the room. After a long message, the planchette stopped moving, all eyes were on him. Leo looked mortified.

“Dead. Find him. My love,” Leo read aloud. He stared at the notepad before violently lurching forward, unconscious, and slamming his head on the table. Guang-Hong gasped and tore away from the planchette, grabbing his boyfriend who now sat upright, with a regained conscious and breathed heavily. 

“Leo, are you alright?” Guang-Hong asked. He looked to Emil, honey-colored eyes full of worry. “Shut the cameras off.” One Emil stood to do as he was asked, he turned back to Leo, who was rubbing his forehead. “What happened? Love, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Leo confirmed, squeezing his eyes shut. “I guess I’m just really exhausted. I didn’t go to bed until late night ‘cause I was doing some tasks Jeremy asked me. I guess that coupled with the drive and the hike has me really exhausted.”

“Get some rest, bro,” Emil said, packing up Guang-Hong’s equipment for him. “It’s fine if you want to. I’m sure we can film stuff without you if you want to rest.” 

“Maybe. It’s sundown right now, so if I drink coffee, I won’t sleep so then I’ll be tired and it’ll be a cycle of-” Leo stopped staring ahead in horror.

Phichit didn’t realize what was happening until he followed Leo’s line of sight. He looked down at the board to see the planchette began to run down the alphabet, surely but slowly, undetected. “We have to say goodbye!” Phichit shrieked once he realized what was happening. Guang-Hong and Emil returned back to their seats and placed their fingers back on the planchette, and together, the three of them slid the planchette to ‘goodbye’. Momentarily, the candle glowed brighter, as if being fueled by something, before dimming back down. 

“What was that?” Emil asked, staring at Phichit. 

Phichit, however, didn’t answer. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. He placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward, dropping his head in his hand. He shook his head. Phichit took calming breaths, squeezing his eyes shut. “Fuck,” was all he said. 

“What was that?” Guang-Hong asked, holding his boyfriend’s hand.

“When a malevolent spirit wants to escape the board, it runs down the alphabet on the Ouija board,” Phichit said. “We said Goodbye before he could reach the last letter. So we’re fine, but that was really close,” he explained.

“Destroy that thing,” Leo said, voice low and serious. “Burn it. Bury it. I don’t care. Get it out of here.” 

Phichit nodded. He grabbed the board off the table, propped his leg up on a chair, and slammed the board on his knee, breaking it in half. He kept doing this until the board was broken into seven pieces. Afterward, he retrieved his pocket knife and a water bottle of holy water from his backpack and gathered the board. “Emil, wanna come with me? I gotta bury these pieces.”

“Sure,” Emil agreed. 

Together, the two put on their heavy coats and went outside. The snowfall had gotten heavier as the sunset. Despite this, Phichit and Emil began to dig holes in the snow, making sure the holes were located in areas that made a pentagram. He then dug a hole in the center of the pentagram and dropped two pieces of the board in there. He walked around the pentagram shaped area and dropped one piece of the board in each hole, dropping some holy water from his water bottle into the hole before covering it again. He and Emil then returned to the center hole and poured some holy water in here. 

“Spirits, we thank you for communication through this board and now ask you to return home and be at rest,” Phichit said. Then, he poured some more holy water into the hole and Emil covered it up. They walked back to the cabin together in relative silence. When they re-entered the cabin, Guang-Hong was in the kitchen, washing the now empty mugs of hot chocolate. A silence was layered over the cabin. 

“Where’s Leo?” Phichit asked, walking up to the Chinese man and taking one of the mugs, drying it with a dishrag. 

“He went to bed in our room,” Guang-Hong said. Phichit looked at him. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were locked on the mug he washed. His hands shook.

“Are you okay?” Phichit asked, placing a delicate hand on Guang-Hong’s arm. Guang-Hong finished washing the mug and turned off the water. He turned and leaned back onto the counter. He folded his hands over his abdomen and fiddled with his thumbs. Guang-Hong and Phichit stood in silence. This wasn’t typically unnatural. The two would spend entire days hanging out together, laying around with music buzzing in the background and scrolling through their social media. But this silence was much different. Guang-Hong looked bothered.

“Can we go ghost hunting tonight?” Guang-Hong asked. 

 

Phichit shook his head. “No, Guang-Hong. Let’s stay in tonight. We can start the investigations tomorrow. After the whole Ouija board debacle, I’d rather just...stay in.” 

Guang-Hong dropped his hands and looked up at Phichit with a hint of desperation in his eyes. “Phichit, please. I can’t explain it, but something’s telling me we need to go out there tonight.” He licked his lips nervously. “We don’t even have to tell Leo. We can go do some EVP sessions out in the forest and maybe a Spirit Box session. Just, please.”

A silence took over the room. Light footsteps approached them. When they both looked, Emil was there. He looked as cheerful as ever. “Man, Leo is out like a light. Do you two want to start editing the video?”

Guang-Hong approached Emil. “Phichit and I are going ghost-hunting. Will you film with the GoPro?”

“Hey, I didn’t agree to any...ugh. Fine.” Phichit said. He knew Guang-Hong was very stubborn and wouldn’t take no for an answer. It was much better for Phichit and Emil to go with him if anything. There was a strength in numbers. 

The three began to bundle up. It was late December and temperatures were expected to drop well below freezing. Phichit zipped up his parka and slipped on his beanie. He waited to put his gloves on, instead putting some equipment in his bag. As he packed his bag, he watched Guang-Hong write out a careful note to Leo, detailing to his boyfriend where they were for one he woke up. Phichit felt quite guilty. Leo and Guang-Hong had been dating for a long time, since their second year of college, and Guang-Hong had never really done anything behind his back. The two were good at communicating Guang-Hong’s insistence had surprised Phichit, even his willingness to not tell Leo. 

“Ready?” Emil asked. Phichit jumped at the voice of his friend. The Czech man was all bundled up, wearing his snowboard mask and his beanie, with only tufts of his hair peeking out underneath it. His eyes were an electric blue color, standing out. In his mitted hands, he held the GoPro on its handle. 

“Uh huh,” Phichit said, turning to Guang-Hong. “Hurry,” he said. “Maybe Leo will wake up soon and if he does, he’s gonna make a big fuss about us going out this late.” 

Guang-Hong smiled to himself and finished the letter, signing it with a big heart. He then folded it neatly, wrote Leo’s name on the front, and left it on the table, folded in a neat tri-fold. He then jumped up, put on his thick coat and scarf, and nodded at the two, determination in his eyes. “Alright,” he said. “Let’s go.” Together, the three set out. Phichit only thought to look back one. 

The candle flame strangely burned brighter than before.

__________

_He held his beloved close. Tears streamed down his face. He could feel the way he quaked in his arms. Soft sobs shook his shoulders. His blood boiled. How could they be so cruel? So cruel and so unkind to his beloved. He was the good one of the pair and they **dared** lay a finger on him? No. Unacceptable. Unacceptable. So he did what he had to do. He did what he had to do and he murdered them. No one would see his precious jewel as different. And if they did, they would recognize him as greater than. Greater than all of them. Because he was. He was greater than all of them. He was an angel. No. He was a god. A god. _

_“You killed them,” his beloved sobbed._

_He placed a soft kiss on his forehead. “I had to. They saw you. They saw us. They saw where we lived. If I didn’t kill them, they would go back to their town and expose us. If I didn’t kill them, we would be unsafe.”_

_“There were more spells. More spells,” He cried. “The Gnaugivemykr probably has a spell that could have made them forget. Something, anything,” his beloved said through tears._

_“Shhh,” he cooed, holding him closer. The younger man crawled into his lap and let his tears fall freely. He ran his fingers soothingly through his hair and casted a sleep spell on his beloved, whispering the spell words into his ear. When his beloved finally fell asleep in his arms, he stood, lifting his beloved with him and carrying him to their bed. He laid him down and covered him, before drawing his cloak over himself. He had to go finish what he had begun. He leaned over his beloved’s still body and brushed away his raven hair from his forehead. He placed a soft kiss on his forehead and stroked his cheek._

_“I will never let anyone hurt you, my Yuuri,” Victor murmured to his sleeping form. When he looked up, his eyes glowed dangerously._

__________

Leo woke up in a sweat. For a moment, he was completely disoriented. He stared at a ceiling that wasn’t his. It took him a minute to remember where he was. The cabin. He was in the cabin filming an episode of their ghost hunting show. The cabin was deathly silent and freezing cold. Cold to the point where he could see his own breath. No. That should have been impossible, they had the fireplace in the living room going. But even so, with every frantic breath, an icy puff expelled from his mouth. His entire body shivered from the low temperatures. At least, he hoped. He remembers Phichit distinctly saying something about a drop in temperature when a spirit was present. But that must be a lie, right? Ghost’s aren’t real.

Very slowly, with his heart still racing, Leo sat up. He took in his surroundings. He and Guang-Hong had pushed the beds together to make one big bed for themselves. The nightstands were moved to either side of the beds. Guang-Hong’s asthma inhaler sat on his nightstand. On Leo’s were his car keys and cellphone. From his peripheral vision, he could make out the wardrobe where he had hung his parka and layers. On the floor next to it, Guang-Hong and his backpacks and suitcase.

“Fuck,” Leo said, squeezing his eye shut. What was that dream? Who were those people? Leo had never seen them in his life. In fact, they didn’t even look as if they’d be alive in his lifetime. But what the hell. What the hell. _Murder?_

Feeling terrified, Leo very carefully stood and inched towards the door. His head turned, and he stared at an empty corner in the room. He then left the room as quickly as he could. He entered the kitchen. The candle they had used for their Ouija board session was still lit on the table. The fireplace was also still lit, illuminating the living room. He walked around quickly, calling out for Guang-Hong, Emil, and Phichit. He searched the entire cabin, even in Phichit and Emil’s room and couldn’t find any sign of the trio. When he walked back into the kitchen, he spotted a letter on the table. He raced to it and picked it up. It had his name on one of the folds. He immediately recognized the handwriting.

_Leo,_

_Phichit, Emil and I went ghost-hunting. Hopefully, we’ll be back in time before you wake up so I can burn this letter (haha Hamilton reference :p) but if not, I’m leaving this behind so you know where we are. We’re gonna be okay. You know that feeling I told you about that just led me to be a pre-med student? Well, I got the same feeling a while ago. Something is just telling me I need to go out there. I don’t know what it is. But alas, go back to bed my sweet Leo Javier De Iglesias Ramirez, we’ll be home soon and I’ll cuddle you until the morning._

_I love you more than life itself,  
Your Guang _

The letter was signed off with a huge heart. Leo’s heart didn’t stop pounding. Fuck. They had gone out. It was dark outside, and the weather was not okay for Guang-Hong to be in, especially because of his asthma. Fuck. Shit. None of this was okay. Coming here was a bad idea. Playing with an Ouija board was a bad idea. All of this was a bad idea and Leo was terrified. Terrified because something inside of him was telling him that everything was going to go wrong and it was going wrong and he just felt doomed. He felt scared.

Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck and his arms stood. His legs went numb with terror and no matter how violently his chest heaved, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He was alone in the cabin but something was there with him. Something was standing behind him. Something was there. There behind him. Something. Something. Someone. Someone was there. Someone was standing behind him. He could feel them. Behind them. Someone. Someone. 

Suddenly, a light touch on his shoulder dissolved his panic. It was a feathered touch. If his senses weren’t kicked into overdrive, he wouldn’t have even felt it. Slowly, he turned. Nothing was behind him.

“Who’s there?” Leo called, voice quivering. 

The fireplace burned brighter. Leo blinked and slowly inched closer to it. Slowly. He kept his eyes locked on it. He stood in front of the fireplace, staring into the flame. The closer he got, the more violent they grew. Almost as if they were reacting to him.

He snapped his head up. His blood ran cold. His eyes widened and he wanted to scream, but before he could panic any further, the same calmness ran through him. He could see it clearly now. It was there.

Standing before him was an opaque figure. The more Leo stared, the more he could make out. He was a handsome, Asian man with raven black hair and bangs that fell just below his eyebrows. His skin was a pale white color, and his lips an odd, pinkish color, unnatural for someone like him. His eyes were a smoldering brown. Intense, yet calm. He was draped in all white robes with red lining and black slippers. His aura was one that exuded safety and calmness. 

Leo knew what he was starting at. He was staring at a ghost. 

Suddenly, pieces began to fall together. 

Leo was staring at a ghost.

Leo was staring at the ghost of Katsuki Yuuri.

__________

“So,” Phichit puffed at the camera Emil held. “We’re here in the forests of Massachusetts, where it’s well past sunset. It’s not only dark but its cold. Very cold.” Phichit said with a shiver. “Guang-Hong begged to come to the forest. I don’t know why. He said he needed to.” Phichit kept talking to the camera as the trio tracked through the forest. The snow crunched below their booted feet, and around then, the snowfall hadn’t ceased.

Guang-Hong looked around with a childlike wonder. He was born in Southern California, so the snow was always an exciting concept to him. The forest of Vunadli looked like a winter wonderland to him with the stillness of the forest and the gentle snowfall. He trailed behind Phichit and Emil, looking around the forest with attentive eyes. Something had called him here. Something powerful. 

“Holy shit it’s really cold,” Phichit shivered, Emil swiveling the camera to focus on the shivering Thai boy. “Guang-Hong we’re both from SoCal but you seem to be handling this way better than I am.”

Guang-Hong looked at Phichit. He laughed. “Well, my grandparents lived in Beijing. Even if there was not much snow, it was pretty cold in Beijing. I guess I got used to it there.” He pulled his scarf up to cover his lips, which were quickly becoming chapped because of the cold. 

“Emil’s the real lucky one here. Colorado boy, figure skating and snowboarding and the lot,” Phichit huffed at their Czech friend. “You were practically made for the snow.”

“Well I mean my mom is half-Russian so I guess I really was,” Emil mused, nudging his friend playfully. “Hey, half-Russian. Who knows. Maybe I’m related to Victor!” Emil laughed.

Phichit wiggled his fingers menacingly at him, a-la-Leo, “That would make you a witch, and in case you didn’t realize it, we’re in a town that killed two powerful witches and only miles from Salem,” Phichit started to chase Emil, who took off running whilst still filming him, “Come here, you filthy witch! Off to the gallows with you!”

“I will curse your name!” Emil shouted back in a horrible impersonation of a Russian accent, laughing hysterically as he took a tumble down and Phichit pounced on him.

Guang-Hong watched the scene with fondness. Their friend group had come together during the summer of Guang-Hong’s second year of college. All four of them had been summer interns with Buzzfeed. Emil and Phichit were like brothers to him, and of course, Leo was the love of his life. It was Emil who had first acquainted the couple after he realized they both attended UC Santa Cruz. When their summer internships were over, Leo and Guang-Hong had continued to hang out during their time at Santa Cruz. When they both got a job offer from Buzzfeed, they were ecstatic. The joy only grew when they found out Phichit and Emil had also gotten job offers, the friend group could only rejoice.

A sudden gust of wind pulled Guang-Hong from his thoughts. Despite his thick, layered clothing and the scarf around his neck, chills ran throughout Guang-Hong’s body like a shockwave. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and his shoulders hunched forward instinctively. He suddenly felt as if he was being watched. He wanted to call out to his friends, who were still play wrestling in the snow, but his voice stuck in his throat. Closing his mouth and he tried to calm the bubble of anxiety that rose in his throat. He felt overwhelmed with an emotion he couldn’t describe. Fear, agony, anger, and even remorse perhaps. 

Very slowly, Guang-Hong turned. His breathing became labored with his panic. His eyes widened and a second shockwave of chills coursed through his body. Every single nerve in his body fired off at once as he made eye contact with it. His chest heaved now with his breaths and the cold, bitter air made it hard to breathe and oh god, oh god, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe and what was that?! What was that?! _What **was** that?!_

From the treeline of the forest, an opaque figure emerged. As he approached, his figure became more defined, but his actual body remained opaque. The figure was tall and almost had a strange glow to it. Although the hood he had on made it hard to make out his facial features, Guang-Hong could barely see that he had pale skin and glowing blue eyes. From the pieces that peaked out from the hood of his dark cloak, Guang-Hong could make out the silver color of his hair. His lips were set in a hard-line. The high collar of his shirt was embroidered elegantly. It was almost as if he had emerged from a history textbook. There was an aura of ancientness around him.

He stopped just short of the end of the treeline’s shadow. He stared at Guang-Hong, tilting his head and regarding him curiously. Guang-Hong’s mouth fell open with horror. Before he could call out to his friends, the figure raised a single finger to his lips, commanding his silence. Strangely, Guang-Hong obeyed. Then, the figure beckoned him forward with his hand, and once again, Guang-Hong obeyed. Despite all his fears, something inside of him wanted to help him. 

He stepped into the treeline and stopped in front of the opaque figure. The figure looked down at him, leaning in close. He pulled back Guang-Hong’s beanie. Another chill coursed through him. He heard his beanie fall onto the snow behind him. A small whimper of fear escaped Guang-Hong’s lips. The figure stepped back when he did, staring at Guang-Hong in confusion. Then, very carefully, he reached forward and touched Guang-Hong’s forehead. Guang-Hong gasped in shock. Instead of feeling the touch of a hand, he felt as if his brain had been submerged in cold water. 

“Are you afraid?” The figure asked, his lips moving but the voice sounding like one of Guang-Hong’s own thoughts. 

“Are you a ghost?” Guang-Hong asked aloud. The figure stared at him, confused. He looked down at himself as if trying to find evidence of the fact that he was, indeed a ghost. 

The figure’s eyes locked with Guang-Hong’s. Their color was frigid, almost demanding, and definitely scary. “Do you not remember me?” He swept around Guang-Hong, cloak billowing around him like smoke. He made a full circle around Guang-Hong and leaned forward. “Do you not remember me, my love?”

Guang-Hong took a hesitant step back. He shook his head and thought about what to reply. “My name is Ji Guang-Hong. I was born in California. We came here to Vunadli, Massachusetts to investigate the legend of the Witches of Vunadli. Their names were Victor Nikiforov and Katsuki Yuuri. They died over 200 years ago.”

The figure was silent for a long time, processing the information Guang-Hong had told him. He stared at Guang-Hong but his eyes seemed far away as if trying to remember something from a long time ago. He was still, very still. He seemed almost like a statue. After what seemed like an eon of silence, the figure spoke. “I have lost something very important to me,” He said. “Will you help me find it?” He reached his hand out and hovered it very lightly above Guang-Hong’s heart. 

When Guang-Hong stared into the figure’s eyes, he couldn't help but want to agree. He looked afraid and scared. Something in Guang-Hong’s nature told him to say yes. So very quietly, and with the slight nod of his head, Guang-Hong said, “Yes.”

The figure pressed his hand through Guang-Hong’s chest.

The world went black around him and the last thing Guang-Hong felt was his back his back hit the snow.

__________

She sat at her window, staring out over the sea of rooftops and towards the forest. The sun was almost completely below the horizon, the sky becoming a dark, inked color as the glowing star disappeared. Her lips were pursed with concern. All around her, books and scrolls were scattered about, with one particular book in a language only she and another could read in front of her, shut. An inkwell, now capped, sat next to the book, and the branch of evergreen had been stained with the dark color. Subconsciously, her hand came up and stroked the cover of the book, drawing a three-pronged knot on the aged material. She sighed and moved her gaze from the skyline of the small town to her necklace. A second stone had begun to glow, but faint. Not as bright as her own stone, but glowed, nonetheless.

It’s time. 

She stood. With a deep breath, she began to retrieve everything she needed. From a bottom drawer, she produced a leather bag and began to pack everything she had gathered. She picked up the tattered book from her desk and read the title. _Gnaugivemykr_. It was a language only she could understand now. Now when it was too late. A short sigh escaped from her lips. She placed the book very carefully inside the leather bag.

She turned to her wardrobe and opened the double doors. Moving most of her clothes aside, she retrieved a dark-colored cloaked and draped it over herself. She pulled the hood over her head and secured the cloak around her, tying a neat bow with the strings at her neck. She looked down at her pale arms once more, making sure all her markings were correct, before rolling down the sleeves of her knitted sweater.

She pulled a silver locket out from the leather bag and opened it. She stared at the small painting of the young woman inside. She had tanned skinned and lush black hair. Her dark eyes and soft smile captured her heart almost immediately. Closing the locket, she put it back in the bag very carefully and strapped the bag closed. She took a final glance around her room. It would perhaps be the last time she would ever be there again.

And with that, she left the comfort of her room and headed towards what she had waited over two centuries for.

__________

“Guang-Hong.”

_Leo?_

Guang-Hong came to, lying on this ground. His back was completely soaked by the snow that had melted from his body heat. A wave of nausea took over his body and he furrowed his brows, groaning in discomfort. When nausea finally disappeared and he could open his eyes to look around, he saw Leo crouching over him, brows knitted with worry as he watched him carefully. Guang-Hong reached a gloved hand out to him and Leo took it, squeezing it with concern. 

“Are you okay, my love?” Leo asked. Guang-Hong sat up and Leo rubbed his back carefully. He leaned against his boyfriend and whimpered softly. That was when Leo wrapped his entire arm around him and shushed him softly, rocking with him back and forth. It was nothing but silence between the two for a long while.

“Are you alright, dear?” Leo asked, meeting his eyes. “You’re not harmed or otherwise, are you?” 

Guang-Hong shook his head and was almost instantly hit with another wave of nausea. He slumped against Leo and groaned softly. His mind felt like someone had stuffed cotton through his ears and he couldn’t get rid of the need to vomit. “Can we go back to the cabin?” Guang-Hong asked. “I don’t feel so good.”

“Anything for you, my love,” Leo said. Carefully, the two stood and began to make their way out of the treeline. Guang-Hong looked around for Emil and Phichit, brows furrowing when he couldn’t spot either of the men. He leaned on Leo, depending on him for most of his walking, and fought through another wave of nausea.

“Have you seen the other two?” Guang-Hong asked Leo, looking up at his boyfriend.

“They are not necessary,” Leo said curtly. A chill ran through Guang-Hong at his words. This wasn’t like Leo at all.

“Are you mad that we ran off to hunt without you? Because it was my idea if anything. You should be upset at me,” Guang-Hong explained. He worried that this entire situation would strain their friendship. Maybe coming to this hunt wasn’t a good idea after all.

“You’ll be safe with me,” Leo said, reaching up to stroke Guang-Hong’s cheek with the back of his finger. Guang-Hong gasped and flinched away from his touch. Not only was Leo’s touch icy cold (which was expected since the freezing temperatures) but his touch itself sent chills throughout Guang-Hong’s body. It was a familiar feeling and not the same feeling he got normally. 

A sense of dread overcame the Chinese man. The world around him began to spin. He stepped away from Leo, staring at him in shock. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Leo was different. He couldn’t explain it, but Leo wasn’t his Leo. He was off. The warmth and comfort he usually radiated towards Guang-Hong was missing. All Guang-Hong could feel around him was pure terror.

“Leo,” Guang-Hong said, taking another step back. “Is everything okay?”

“Guang-Hong!” He heard a voice call, nearby. He gasped and whipped his head around. In front of him, Leo made a displeased noise. 

“Phichit?” Guang-Hong called back.

“Guang-Hong!!” Phichit’s voice replied. Soon, Leo and Emil’s voice joined Phichit, quickly approaching him. When Guang-Hong tried to run towards the voices, his legs failed him. He fell forward. 

“Guang-Hong!” Leo called from beyond the treelines.

“Leo,” Guang-Hong said weakly. Despite the freezing temperature, he began to break out in a sweat. The fear now swelled in his stomach and adrenaline began to pump through his veins. Behind him, he turned to look at Leo. Or who he thought was Leo. When his eyes landed on him, he gasped in terror. 

Leo was glitching as if someone had begun to wave their hand through smoke. One second, he was Leo. The other, he was the figure he had seen earlier. Their visage began to blend together. Suddenly, Guang-Hong couldn’t tell one from the other. They were one. The figure had been impersonating Leo. Oh god, oh _god_. What had Guang-Hong _done_?

“Guang-Hong!” Phichit’s voice came one more, this time, no more than only a couple of yards away. Heart beating, and with his legs still denying him, he did all he could think of. He grabbed a fistful of snow and tossed it beyond the treeline with all his might, hoping it would catch one of the three’s attention. 

“Guang? Babe?” Leo called in a hopeful tone and Guang-Hong could hear his footsteps rapidly approaching him now, crunching the snow. 

“Look within the trees!” Emil ordered. As Guang-Hong laid in the snow, he could see the beams from the flashlights his friends were using. He closed his eyes and began to try to make any sound. The figure had been doing something to him, he had been controlling his body.

He looked at the figure, who was now struggling to hold onto his facade. His head rolled back, tossing his hood off his head, and Guang-Hong got a clearer picture of his face. His blood stilled. Everything around him slowed down. He recognized the face. From hours of research conducted with Phichit. In a portrait that came up whenever his name was searched. Everything he had ever come across, first-hand accounts, historical records, legends, and eyewitnesses, it all began to click. All of it.

He was staring at the ghost of Victor Nikiforov.

“Guang-Hong!” Phichit shouted, crossing the treeline and staring down at him with a camera in his hand. When he looked up, he dropped the camera in shock. Guang-Hong tried crawling to Phichit but his body was feeling weaker by the second. Phichit tried to run to him but was only knocked back by a powerful gust of wind that emerged from Victor’s palm. 

“Leave him alone!” Leo shouted, running low towards Guang-Hong. Victor, taken aback, swept his arms in a giant arc around Guang-Hong. He felt himself falling. A terrified shriek tore itself from Guang-Hong’s lips. “Guang-Hong!” He heard Leo scream from above him. 

Then, the treetops disappeared from above him, and Guang-Hong once more was swallowed by darkness, falling to nothingness. An icy hand took his grip, and Victor’s voice whispered into his head. 

_It’s okay, Yuuri. You don’t need to be afraid._

**Author's Note:**

> I know the story may seem a little confusing right now, but that's the point! As the story progresses, more will become clear. If you have any questions, head on over to my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/allegrowrites) and ask away!
> 
> Thanks for reading! See you soon!
> 
> (No seriously the quarter ends in 26 days, I'll be free to write to my heart content).


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